Michael Shmerkin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Shmerkin
Personal Info
Country: Flag of Israel Israel
Date of birth: February 5, 1970 (1970-02-05) (age 38)
Height: 168 cm
Former Coach: Valentin Nikolaev, Galina Zmievskaya
Skating Club: Canada Centre, Metulla, ISR
Retired: 2002

Michael "Misha" Shmerkin (born February 5, 1970, in Odessa, Soviet Union (now Ukraine)) is an Israeli figure skater.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Shmerkin was born and raised in the Soviet Union and competed for them internationally, most notably at the 1990 Junior Worlds. As he advanced, he soon discovered that the fact that he is Jewish was being held against him. Consequently, his family decided to move to Israel and Shmerkin began representing them in international competition

At the 1994 Winter Olympics, where he placed 16th, Shmerkin became the first skater to represent Israel at the Olympic Games. He placed 18th at the 1998 Winter Olympics. He retired from competitive skating following the 2001/2002 season.

Shmerkin currently coaches in Virginia.

[edit] Competitive highlights

Event 1992-1993 1993-1994 1994-1995 1995-1996 1996-1997 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002
Winter Olympic Games 16th 18th
World Championships 19th 14th 11th 11th 15th 15th 35th 33rd
European Championships 14th 13th 19th 20th 25th
Israeli Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
Golden Spin, Zagreb 8th 5th
Skate Israel 1st 2nd 8th 3rd
NHK Trophy 5th 10th
Nations Cup on Ice 5th 6th 8th
Skate Canada 2nd 2nd
Skate America 7th
Ondrej Nepela Memorial 1st

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Languages